CALIFORNIAN: New Music for July 5-11, 2012

Think of a band like Fleetwood Mac, which had a semicareer's worth of blues-rock behind them ---- and then unveiled a poppy blockbuster like "Rumours." That's the size of the jump the band Metric makes in "Synthetica," an album both new and full, in effect, of greatest hits; it trumps the band's entire career up to this point.

Only "Gimme Sympathy" off their 2009 album "Fantasies" hinted at this entire record of nervy songwriting perfection. Emily Haines has never before lined up hooks this way, one after another, like the Gary Glitter stomp of "Youth Without Youth," girl-group pop of "The Void," sly bounce of "Lost Kitten," and atmospheric-anthemic "Breathing Underwater."

"Clone" is a dead-on Death Cab rip followed by "The Wanderlust," which is aided (literally) by Lou Reed. Indie is rarely this imaginatively encyclopedic and slickly pop at the same time.

---- Scripps-McClatchy

R&B

"Fortune"

Two stars

Chris Brown

RCA Records

One of the best songs on Chris Brown's new album is a soft number, "Don't Judge Me," that finds him asking a girlfriend to look past his mistakes.

"So please don't judge me, because it can get ugly, before it gets beautiful," he sings in his signature semi-high pitch.

For another singer, such a tune might come off as just another relationship plea. But coming from the bad-boy singer whose career is nearly restored after his attack on Rihanna three years ago, it seems like a cry for understanding to the whole world and makes him sound vulnerable and appealing.

When Brown opens up, he's the best version of himself. Unfortunately, there aren't enough of those songs to make "Fortune," the 23-year-old's fifth album, a must have (it's the follow up to last year's Grammy-winning "F.A.M.E.").

The album veers from hip-hop-flavored party jams to electronic, pulsating tracks meant for laser light shows to more emotional fare. The album suffers from Brown's cocky rap-talk and the computerized noises that drown out today's dance songs.

One of the highlights is "4 Years Old." Like "Don't Judge Me," it is soft and slow, with Brown recalling his childhood, singing: "Feels like I'm 4 years old all over again, because I'm just running fast, I should be walking, saying when I grow up you gon' see, I'm gon' be comfortable and happy."

But most of the other tracks are mediocre, and those that standout ---- like "Biggest Fan" and "2012" ---- suffer from the album's lack of flow and patchy feel. But production may also be the blame: The 14-track set is overloaded with too many producers and songwriters. Sometimes "Fortune" feels like a mixtape.

---- Associated Press

HIP-HOP

"Wild Ones"

Two stars

Flo Rida

Atlantic Records

Flo Rida has never been the main attraction on his own records: He's best known for his collaborations with other artists. His first hit, "Low," co-starred T-Pain, and subsequent ones like "In the Ayer" featuring will.i.am and "Right Round" with Ke$ha should have been an indication of the extent of his range, which is pretty limited.